Hello! I’m Chelsea, and I sometimes call myself a designer and other times I call myself a maker. Since graduating from RISD with my bfa in graphic design I have found that making work that solves problems is a core value of mine. I haven’t ever fit into the corporate world of design because my purpose in life is to challenge everything creatively. I hope throughout my career I will never become afraid of that motto. Not only that but continue to remember where I have come from and where I’m going including all those who constantly raise me up.

Elijah Bobo is from Flint, Michigan and is a recent graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a BFA in Graphic Design. He has worked for multiple on-campus organizations such as the Center for Diversity and Community Involvement, the Undergraduate Research Symposium, and the School of Art and Design, to name a few. His recent work with the Detroit Science Gallery helps focus his interests on strengthening community development and the ways that bridging science and art can affect the world and the people that live in it. He tends to keep his head in the clouds, arguing that it helps with his design process, but really he is just trying to keep an eye out for rare birds.

Iña de las Alas is a Filipino-American graphic designer who has just begun to fully embrace her hyphenate nationality. Born in Metro Manila and having lived in California for half her life, she is currently interested in the cultural representation of postcolonial and immigrant identities.  Since graduating from ArtCenter College of Design, she has been inspired by the intersection of design, pop culture, and social justice. Her practice currently involves brand identity design, but no matter what she’s doing, she mostly aims to facilitate dialogue, advocate for social equity, and be kind.

Ana María Lopez is a Dominican Holistic Designer currently based in New York. Her creative practice reflects how to unlearn modes of action and perception through creative forms of healing. She is interested in using these forms of interventions to reshape how the Public Health and Public Education systems are formed. Ana recently received her BFA on Integrated Design from Parsons School of Design and currently works with the “I Have a Dream” Foundation as an Arts Facilitator. Her goal is to provide a safe space for her students to positively express their emotions.

Melanie Passajou–Dick is a recent graduate of Appalachian State University, where she received her BFA in Graphic Design. She is currently working as the Graphic Designer and Exhibitions Assistant at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. Recently, she completed an internship in the Museum of Modern Art’s Retail Department, where she worked with the Creative and Business Development teams. Melanie believes that the most rewarding design is that which acts as a catalyst for social change. Through exhibition, identity, print, and web design, she hopes to address relevant socio–political issues, especially those related to race, gender, and sexuality.